SEOUL - South Korea’s health minister said on March 4 that the authorities will start inspecting hospitals in order to take legal action against trainee doctors who have ignored an ultimatum to end a walkout over government plans to increase medical school admissions.
Around 9,000 resident and intern doctors, or about 70 per cent of the country's total, have walked off the job since Feb 20, leading to the cancellation of some surgical procedures and treatments, and straining emergency departments.
The government had warned the protesting trainee physicians that they could face administrative and legal penalties, including the suspension of their medical licences and fines, or a jail term if they did not return to work by the end of February.
“From today, we plan to conduct on-site inspections to confirm trainee doctors who have not returned, and take action according to the law and principle without exception,” health minister Cho Kyoo-hong told a televised briefing.
“Please keep in mind that doctors who have not returned may experience serious problems in their personal career path.”
For protesting doctors who returned to the field, Mr Cho said the government would consider extenuating circumstances when contemplating any action against them.
Later, vice-health minister Park Min-soo told a briefing that the government would take steps to suspend the medical licences of some 7,000 trainee doctors who had left their jobs.
Patients outside a major hospital in Seoul told Reuters they were concerned about the impact a drawn-out stand-off had on treatment, and called for talks to ensure a swift resolution.
“Doctors should first return and reassure patients and their families, and then have a dialogue with the government,” said a patient, who gave her name only as Ms Song.
Meanwhile, Ms Lee Hye-ji, a 37-year-old renal dialysis patient, expressed fears of her condition deteriorating during this time.
“I would be extremely anxious if I ever need to undergo a kidney transplant surgery but there are no doctors available.”
Up to now, there has been little sign of either side backing down.
Thousands of South Korean doctors held a mass rally on March 3, organised by the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which represents private practitioners, defying official calls for the trainee physicians to return to work.
The KMA apologised at a news briefing on March 4 for inconvenience caused by the walkout, but urged the government to rethink its medical reforms and accused the authorities of a “witch-hunt” against doctors.
The World Medical Association, a group representing physicians, said in a statement on March 3 that it “strongly condemns the actions of the Korean government in attempting to stifle the voices of elected leaders within the Korean Medical Association”, adding that it affirmed the right of doctors to collective action, including strikes.
The young doctors who are protesting say the government should first address pay and working conditions before trying to increase the number of physicians.
The government says the plan to increase the number of students admitted to medical schools by 2,000 starting in the 2025 academic year is needed in a rapidly ageing society with one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios in developed economies – at 2.6 doctors per 1,000 people.
The plan to boost medical school admissions is popular with the public, with about 76 per cent of respondents in favour, regardless of political affiliation, a recent Gallup Korea poll found.
Some critics, however, accuse President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government of not consulting enough and of picking a fight over the issue ahead of parliamentary elections in April.
In 2020, Mr Yoon’s predecessor, Mr Moon Jae-in, shelved a plan to boost doctor numbers after a strike by trainee doctors that also coincided with a wave of coronavirus infections. REUTERS
